Yes, ‘overpaid and now quite lazy’ could certainly be considered unfair as a general assessment of general practice.
Nevertheless it can be taken as a strong indicator of the frustration that exists among community pharmacy at what is perceived - by some - as an unwillingness by GPs to work alongside community pharmacy on schemes like Pharmacy First, which are – in part at least – designed to relieve the pressure on GPs in the first place.
But that damning assessment wasn’t the only pithy sentiment to come from asking what C+D readers thought about the relationship between community pharmacists and GPs.
Read more: Blood pressure cap driven by GPs ‘dumping’ workload
“GPs have their own agenda and business priorities which will never fully align with pharmacies,” said one respondent.
“The BMA will never be positive to pharmacy as it is not in the interest of their members.”
Another said “Some GPs are great, but there is a reluctance to engage.
“I would like to see a greater working relationship between the BMA and the PDA, RPS and NPA,” they continued. “We need bridges built at that level rather than pockets of good and bad relationships country wide.”
Read more: GPs warned they could face legal issues if they ‘ignore’ pharmacists
Solid bridges between overlapping sectors are sensible things, but another respondent highlighted that goodwill and harmony are vulnerable when profit margins are on the line – especially in 2026.
Any relationship will “always depend on the individual professionals and practices,” said another C+D reader. “We have had disputes between industries with flu jabs, and we have it with Pharmacy First. I suspect a lot of GP surgeries are scrutinising their revenue now that their businesses are struggling.”
“Competition for funding between the two should not exist,” said another. “We provide two different services.”
Read more: GPs call for Pharmacy First funds to be ‘reallocated’ to practices
However, they also pointed to the fact that GP concerns over Pharmacy First as a scheme are wider than purely financial.
“I understand their frustration over Pharmacy First due to many inappropriate referrals back to them or missing of red flags,” they said.
Resistance
Then again, not all GPs feel this way about Pharmacy First.
And perhaps as a whole, GPs might view the scheme more favourably if more of them felt more of a tangible impact from its benefits, suggested one pharmacist.
“The diversion of clinical services from GPs to pharmacy needs to be accompanied by planned increases in consultation time for GPs,” they said.
Read more: Pharmacy First: ‘Forget about GPs, they’re not going to help you’
“It is no good them seeing a higher proportion of complex cases within the same time frame of 10 minute appointment times.
“If Pharmacy First resulted in a higher proportion of complex cases, but with increased time and less patients to see, I feel there would be less resistance from GPs.”
Got thoughts on the evolving relationship between community pharmacy and GPs? Share them in the comments below.
